Graduates of The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) remain competitive and popular in the education sector amidst the uncertainty of the secondary school teachers’ market, according to the latest HKIEd Graduate Employment Survey.

A total of 832 full-time programme graduates participated in the annual survey conducted by HKIEd’s Student Affairs Office from October to December 2012, with an overall response rate of 91.6 per cent.

Out of 568 Education Bachelor’s degree graduates interviewed, nearly 98 per cent were employed or in further studies by December 2012. 91.7 per cent had secured jobs and 6.2 per cent were pursuing further studies.

The employment situation is similar for graduates from the Postgraduate Diploma of Education (PGDE). Up to 95.2 per cent of the surveyed graduates were employed or had chosen to pursue further studies, with 93.6 per cent of the total already in the workforce. Graduates who chose to continue their education grew to 1.6 per cent, up from 1.3 per cent in 2011.

Graduates from undergraduate degree programmes received an average salary of HK$19,658 per month, up 0.6 per cent from the HK$19,535 of 2011. PGDE graduates received HK$19,885, similar to the amount last year.

Commenting on the results, Professor Richard Tsang, Dean of Students at HKIEd, said that “against the backdrop of dwindling student population in secondary schools, we are glad to note that our graduates remained much sought-after last year. This had much to do with their professional education knowledge, classroom experience and whole person development”.

In response to concern about employment prospects for secondary school majors, Dr Tom Fong Wing-ho, Director of Student Affairs at HKIEd, commented that “vacancies exist in the wider education market, and there is great demand for our graduates from Yi Jin, the Vocational Training Council, special needs schools and primary schools, to name just a few”.

Based on the government’s projection of teacher demand, HKIEd has reduced the intakes of secondary majors to its Bachelor of Education (BEd) and PGDE programmes in recent years. It is estimated that graduates with such majors will account for less than 15 of the Institute’s BEd graduates in 2013. The Institute has also introduced cross-sectoral education programmes providing flexibility in the curriculum by preparing students for both primary and secondary school teaching roles. A pilot scheme comprising four-year, full-time cross-sectoral BEd programmes, covering four majors (Chinese Language, Music, Physical Education and Visual Arts) was launched in 2010 to further prepare graduates for the job market.

Professor May Cheng May-hung, Associate Vice President (Academic Affairs) and Registrar of HKIEd envisaged that “the proportion of HKIEd graduates gaining employment in sectors other than education will continue to see a rising trend with the first batch of HKIEd non-Education graduates”.

Meanwhile, HKIEd programmes remain popular amongst students. The 5-year BEd programme, which was launched to match the 3-3-4 academic structure, has attracted over 10,746 Band A applications, representing a significant increase of 36 per cent over the last year, with 21 candidate competing for each place.

The Institute has received over 82,500 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) applications via the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) applying for our undergraduate programmes 2013/14, an increase of around 20 per cent from 68,857 same time last year.

As regards non-JUPAS applications, the Institute has received close to 4,200 applications. Around 2,900 applications for PGDE programme places have been received, with an average of 7 students competing for each place available.

Note: Projection made in accordance with the enrolment figures as at 31 October 2012.

Graduates of HKIEd remain competitive and popular in the education sector according to the latest HKIEd Graduate Employment Survey.

Graduates from undergraduate degree programmes received an average salary of HK$19,658 per month, up 0.6 per cent from the HK$19,535 of 2011.